While the US market continues to be a winner for Bounty paper towel producer Procter & Gamble, the company cautioned that a recovery in China will take time
While the US market continues to be a winner for Bounty paper towel producer Procter & Gamble, the company cautioned that a recovery in China will take time AFP

Procter & Gamble reported a decline in profits on slightly lower sales Friday as the company said a recovery in China was still a number of quarters away.

The producer of Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste, P&G reported mixed sales across its five product categories, with health care growing the most and beauty declining the most.

Profits were $4.0 billion, down 12 percent from the year-ago level, partly due to some $800 million in one-time restructuring costs tied to the liquidation of assets in Argentina.

Revenues slipped one percent to $21.7 billion.

Beauty sales were dented by volume declines in Greater China, where the super-premium SK-II skin care brand has been weak for a number of quarters.

Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten said the company welcomes recent stimulus measures from Beijing but that it doesn't expect a quick turnaround in China.

"All we can say at this moment is we're still down, and we believe it will take a few quarters until we get back to positive growth," Schulten said on a call with reporters.

China's recovery "will take time," he said.

In contrast, Schulten described the United States as "very strong" for its consumer products, with growth of about four percent in P&G's categories.

"The consumer continues to be favorably inclined to P&G, and we also don't see any trade down," he said.

P&G confirmed it sees fiscal 2025 sales growth of between two and four percent.

Shares fell 0.6 percent in pre-market trading.